A variety of spinal injuries and deformities can occur due to trauma, disease, or congenital effects. These injuries and deformities can, ultimately, result in the destruction of one or more vertebral bodies. One type of spinal deformity, a kyphosis, involves a prolapse of the vertebral column towards the front of the body, often caused by the destruction of the vertebral body itself. This destruction can be in the form of a trauma type injury, such as a fracture or burst injury to the vertebral body, or a non-traumatic deformity caused by a tumor or a degeneration of the bone in the vertebral body.
In most treatments of a kyphosis, a high degree of anterior reconstruction of the spine is required, most frequently involving total removal of the damaged vertebral body. In a typical anterior approach, partial or total surgical excision of the vertebral body and the two adjacent vertebral disks is carried out. The remaining space is then distracted to manipulate the spine to its correct orientation. Various forms of reconstruction using an osteosynthesis device, such as a vertebral replacement body, can then be performed in the space created by the removal of the vertebral body and disks. However, existing vertebral body replacement devices permit only limited bone ingrowth, are relatively hard to place, and offer limited adjustability to accommodate a patient's specific vertebral anatomy.
Therefore, a vertebral body replacement is needed that permits greater bone ingrowth, facilitates placement of bone graft between adjacent healthy vertebrae, and allows greater adjustability to accommodate a patient's specific vertebral anatomy.